Palmetto (train)

Palmetto

A Palmetto pulls into Wilson, North Carolina.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Northeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic (United States) and Southeastern United States
Predecessor	Palmetto (Atlantic Coast Line Railroad)
First service	June 15, 1976 November 10, 1996
Last service	February 1, 1995
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Ridership	380,815 total (FY16)[1]
Route
Start	New York City
Stops	21 southbound, 20 northbound
End	Savannah, Georgia
Distance travelled	829 miles (1,334 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	89/90
On-board services
Class(es)	Reserved coach Business class
Seating arrangements	Airline-style coach seating
Catering facilities	Lounge car
Baggage facilities	Checked baggage available at select stations
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet coaches
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Track owner(s)	Amtrak, CSX
showRoute map Legend Dist. Station Northeast Corridor to Boston 0 mi 0 km New York City NY NJ across Hudson River North River Tunnels 10 mi 16 km Newark Penn 25 mi 40 km Metropark 33 mi 53 km New Brunswick 49 mi 79 km Princeton Junction 58 mi 93 km Trenton NJ PA across Delaware River 91 mi 146 km Philadelphia–30th Street PA DE 116 mi 187 km Wilmington DE MD 185 mi 298 km Baltimore 195 mi 314 km BWI Airport 216 mi 348 km New Carrollton MD DC 225 mi 362 km Washington, D.C. DC VA 234 mi 377 km Alexandria 334 mi 538 km Richmond Staples Mill Road 362 mi 583 km Petersburg VA NC 460 mi 740 km Rocky Mount 476 mi 766 km Wilson 502 mi 808 km Selma 550 mi 885 km Fayetteville NC SC 603 mi 970 km Dillon 633 mi 1019 km Florence 672 mi 1081 km Kingstree 728 mi 1172 km North Charleston 782 mi 1259 km Yemassee SC GA 829 mi 1334 km Savannah Silver Service to Miami This diagram: view talk

The Palmetto is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 829-mile (1,334 km) route^[2] between New York City and Savannah, Georgia, via the Northeast Corridor, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Virginia, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. The Palmetto is a shorter version of the Silver Meteor, which continues south to Miami, Florida. Between 1996 and 2002 this service was called the Silver Palm. Although currently a day train, in the past the Palmetto provided overnight sleeper service to Florida.

During fiscal year 2019, the Palmetto carried 345,342 passengers, a decrease of 11% from FY2018.^[3] The train had a total revenue of $27,208,372 during FY2016, a 61.4% increase over FY2015.^[1]

History[]

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Palmetto arriving at Decatur, Georgia, on April 12, 1963

The Palmetto at Florence, South Carolina, in 1977. A GE P30CH is in the lead.

The "Palmetto" name was first used by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1909 for the Palmetto Limited, which ran from New York City to Augusta and Savannah, Georgia, with a connection to Atlanta via the Georgia Railroad. The ACL train was discontinued in 1968.

Amtrak introduced the new Palmetto on June 15, 1976. The train drew its name from the Sabal palmetto, the state tree of South Carolina. The Palmetto was the first train in the Southern United States to receive the then-new Amfleet equipment, and the 828-mile (1,333 km) run was the longest at the time for the new coaches.^[4] At the time of introduction, Amtrak planned to run the Palmetto daily for the summer only, with service ending September 8. However, citing better-than-expected ridership, Amtrak extended the Palmetto to a year-round service indefinitely.^[5] In October 1976 the Florida Department of Transportation urged Amtrak to extend the Palmetto south to Miami.^[6]

Between October 1984 and September 1985, Amtrak operated the Carolinian, a North Carolina-focused regional train, as a section of the Palmetto. The two trains ran combined between New York and Richmond, Virginia. At Richmond the Carolinian continued separately to Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina. The Carolinian was discontinued after the state of North Carolina refused to increase its support for the train.^[7][8][9]

In December 1988 Amtrak extended the Palmetto south to Jacksonville, Florida. The train continued to be coach-only, without full dining service.^[10] Beginning on May 12, 1990, the Palmetto combined with a revived Carolinian, although this time the split occurred in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The two trains began running independently to New York in April 1991.^[11][12] In October 1994 the Palmetto became a full overnight with sleeper and dining car service, running through to Tampa, Florida. This replaced the Silver Meteor's Tampa section.^[13] This extension was short-lived: budget cuts under the Clinton administration led to the Palmetto's discontinuance on February 1, 1995.^[14]

Revival[]

Amtrak added a third train from New York to Miami on November 10, 1996, known as the Silver Palm in line with the Silver Service brand for Amtrak's Florida trains. However, it used the same route as the former Palmetto and carried the same numbers (89 southbound and 90 northbound). While the Silver Star and Silver Meteor ran straight from Jacksonville to Miami, at Jacksonville the Silver Palm turned west and continued over the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line via Waldo, Ocala, Wildwood and Dade City to Tampa. At Tampa, it reversed and ran south to Miami. Amtrak restored the Palmetto name on May 1, 2002, after it removed the sleepers and dining car from the train, although it continued serving Florida.

On November 1, 2004, Amtrak truncated the Palmetto to Savannah, Georgia, operating a daytime schedule to and from New York (as it had prior to 1994). With the truncation to Savannah, the Silver Star was rerouted to serve Tampa; the old Jacksonville-Lakeland route is now served by a Thruway Motorcoach bus transfer from the Silver Star, which serves all the former stations as well as Gainesville.^[15]

In the January 2011 issue of Trains magazine, this route was listed as one of five routes to be looked at by Amtrak in FY 2011 as the previous five routes (Sunset, Eagle, Zephyr, Capitol, and Cardinal) were examined in FY 2010.^[16] In October 2015, in an effort to reduce redundant trains, Amtrak temporarily cancelled one daily Northeast Regional round trip and allowed the Palmetto to take local passengers north of Washington. Stops at New Carrollton, BWI Airport, Princeton Junction, New Brunswick and Metropark were added to the Palmetto.^[17]

Consist[]

The Palmetto generally operates with a General Electric GE Genesis P42DC diesel locomotive, a Viewliner baggage car, an Amfleet I business class car, an Amfleet I cafe car, an Amfleet I coach, and three Amfleet II long-distance coach cars. North of Washington, D.C. a Siemens ACS-64 handles the train.^[2] Unlike most Amtrak long-distance trains, the Palmetto does not have sleeping cars.

Route[]

Amtrak Silver Service (specific Palmetto stops are not marked) (interactive map)

The Palmetto's route has not changed significantly since it first ran in 1976. It parallels the Florida-bound Silver Meteor, making additional station stops. When introduced in 1976 it included two new stations: Dillon and Kingstree, South Carolina. As of 2011 Kingstree sees the Silver Meteor as well.^[4] The Palmetto added Selma, North Carolina (Smithfield) in October 1982. In October 2015, it added New Carrollton, BWI Airport, Princeton Junction, New Brunswick and Metropark.^[18]

Unlike other long-distance trains that operate on the Northeast Corridor, the Palmetto makes local stops as well as major city stops. It stops in Metropark and BWI Airport in both directions, and serves New Brunswick and Princeton Junction southbound and New Carrollton northbound.

Before 2019, the southbound Palmetto followed the practice of most medium- and long-distance trains running in the Northeast, and did not allow passengers to travel only between stations in the Northeast Corridor. It only stopped to receive passengers between Newark and Washington. This policy was intended to keep seats available for passengers making longer trips. Starting in 2019, the southbound Palmetto began allowing local travel along the Northeast Corridor. The northbound Palmetto has allowed such local travel since 2015.

Details[]

The Palmetto operates over Amtrak and CSX Transportation trackage:

• Amtrak Northeast Corridor, New York to Washington, D.C.
• CSX RF&P Subdivision, Richmond Terminal Subdivision, North End Subdivision, South End Subdivision, Charleston Subdivision, and Savannah Subdivision, Washington to Savannah.

Bus connections[]

In October 2012, Amtrak began operating Thruway bus routes in eastern North Carolina that connect to the northbound and southbound Palmetto at Wilson, North Carolina.^[19] One route serves Greenville, New Bern, Havelock, and Morehead City; the other route serves Goldsboro, Kinston, Jacksonville, and Wilmington.

Station stops[]

See also[]

• 2016 Chester, Pennsylvania train derailment

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palmetto (train).

• Silver Service / Palmetto – Amtrak